


A Gift of the Heart

by Idgahufflefuck



Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: here go the dreen messing around with things again, more tags to come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 03:24:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17358020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idgahufflefuck/pseuds/Idgahufflefuck
Summary: Nina is dumped head first into her favorite steampunk medical/political drama with a set of annoyingly vague instructions. Guide the Hospital. Root out the shadows. Share no knowledge of certain future events. She's really not sure she's the right person for this job.





	A Gift of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Gift of the Dreen](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16448273) by [phoenixyfriend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixyfriend/pseuds/phoenixyfriend). 
  * Inspired by [The Gift of the Dreen](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16448273) by [phoenixyfriend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixyfriend/pseuds/phoenixyfriend). 
  * Inspired by [The Gift of the Dreen](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16448273) by [phoenixyfriend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixyfriend/pseuds/phoenixyfriend). 



> Hello, hello it's me here jumping on the Dreen Gift bandwagon! Thank you to everyone in the discord who's bounced around so many amazing ideas & especially to pheonixyfriend for coming up with such a fun space to play in. Go check out her fic & the other's inspired by it.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> "Dreen-Gift: a term for supposed psychics that pop out throughout history, who know things, whether past, present, or future, that they have no way of knowing.
> 
> They are so called because they are "delivered" by Dreen to where they are needed, and if they go a step too far and try to give more information than the Dreen would like, one shows up to scare them back into silence.
> 
> The reality is that Dreen-gifts are people from other dimensions, including ours, who have read parts of the story before.
> 
> There's a world where the primary story of Europa is that of Andronicus and Euphrosynia, with barely a footnote for Agatha's existence, but a delightfully torrid romance inside.
> 
> There's a world where Ht'Rok-din was the main villain in a video game that, as it turned out, one could not successfully win by defeating him, only by keeping him from going past the immediate countryside surrounding Mechanicsburg.
> 
> There's a world where the first jagers were the enemy supersoldiers in a highly-acclaimed Image comic.
> 
> And so on." --The Gift of the Dreen by phoenixyfriend

It had started out a perfectly normal day. At least, what qualified for normal in the small town of Nisposca under the rule of their local spark, Doctor Enescu. Which is to say there were several mechanical rams terrorizing everyone in sight and setting fire to the countryside.  Bill and Barry Heterodyne had heard what was going on from a frazzled and singed merchant in a tavern several towns over and traveled through the night to see how they could help. So far things had gone more or less as expected-- Barry's Foam-Flinging Fire Finishers worked beautifully, if a little overenthusiastically, Klaus’ air support from his Individual Dirigible had been invaluable, and Bill had somehow managed to lose his shirt.

Out of nowhere there was a woman standing in the field. There was no flash of light, no pop of displaced air, or buzz of machinery, just a young woman with denim trousers, an oversized sweater and a glassy look in her eyes. Neither the boys, nor their companions saw her appear although Bill spotted her and shouted a warning as he lost his grip on the last remaining ram. They watched in horror as it spun, disoriented, and charged. Suddenly she gasped and seemed to ripple slightly around the edges and the ram passed straight through her into a sticky, clinging pile of foam where it struggled and twitched uselessly.

Bill was there in an instant, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder.

“Are you all right, miss?”

She stared up at him, blue eyes wide behind thin framed glasses and slowly reached out a hand to touch his bare chest before pulling back as though shocked.

“Miss?”

“ _I-- I don't, um…”_

_“You don't speak Romanian?”_

She shook her head silently and took a shaky seat on the ground. Over her head Bill and Barry shared a look, and an unspoken idea passed between them.

“ _All right Miss-- What should we call you?”_

 _“Oh. I'm, uh… Nina?”_ She scrunched her nose thoughtfully. “ _Yeah. I'm Nina. You're Bill Heterodyne.”_

_“I am. It's okay, no one's going to hurt you. Barry here's going to look you over and make sure you're okay while me’n Klaus here go talk to the townspeople.”_

Nina looked up at Barry as he approached and absently began checking her own pulse and taking a few deep, slow breaths.

“ _I'm not hurt, but I’m pretty sure I'm not okay. ”_

\-----

 

It took no time at all Barry to proclaim her perfectly healthy, if a little shocky, and get her comfortably bundled into the back of their vehicle. It was a strange construction somewhere between a wagon and a chariot, and pulled by two large mechanical horses. When it was clear she wasn’t able to answer even simple questions he told her to sit tight and walked purposefully off toward the village.

Nina pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped the saddle blanket more tightly around herself, breathing in the scent of machine oil and rubbing the coarse material between her fingers. It was so solid, so real-- the way the afternoon sun glinted off the snowy mountaintops in the distance and the sweetly sharp smell of the smouldering grass. It was as real as anything she’d ever experienced and yet completely, utterly unbelievable.

A cool shadow passed over her in the middle of her inspection of her own hands. Bill stood over her smiling gently, hand hovering over her shoulder as though she was a skittish cat about to bolt.

“ _Is there somewhere we can take you?_ ”

It was like someone had struck a giant bell in her heart and the answer vibrated through her body and soul until it bubbled out through her mouth.

“ _The Great Hospital. I’m here to help the Hospital._ ”

“ _Why does the hospital need help?_ ” he asked, frowning.

“ _It will be a center of light and healing in a time of trouble and darkness. Nothing can be allowed to change that,_ ” she continued as though barely hearing him although she reached out and took his hand in both of hers.

“ _You_ are _a Dreen Gift,_ ” Barry breathed softly, glancing at his brother with concern.

Before today Nina would have told them she had no Idea what he meant-- she’d never even heard of the Dreen. But as Barry said it the image of the shrouded figures in their strange conical hats popped into her head, and with it the knowledge of the vague instructions she didn’t remember receiving. Put the hospital on its rightful path. Find and weed out agents of darkness. Give as little direct information as possible and tell no one of the upcoming War.

“ _I’m here to help._ ”

\-----

 

The ride into Mechanicsburg was slow as the citizens stopped to great their Heterodynes, and it gave Nina plenty of time to look around. She’d seen images of the city before of course, but seeing it on a screen was nothing like experiencing it in person. By the time they had to abandon the carriage to make their way through the marketplace on foot  her head was spinning. She eagerly accepted the fried trilobite Barry offered her and did her best to ignore the townsfolks’ curious looks as she trailed closely behind the boys.

“We’ll take you to our senechal,” Bill was saying as he navigated deftly through the crowd. “He speaks English and he’ll have an idea where you can stay until you get yourself more established.”

“Please don’t tell everyone how I got here,” Nina begged, trying not to pant as they wound their way up the slope towards the city center. That would be something she’d need to work on if she was to stay here long term, although she supposed she always had told people she’d like to live in a more walkable city.

“Carson can keep a secret,” he promised.

Barry hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe he can spread it around that we met you when your home was destroyed and offered to drop you off here to start a new life.”

“That could work.”

Nina tried to look relieved. After all, if the Dreen were against the boys knowing what she was, surely they wouldn’t have dropped her so directly in their path. And if they could get her a job at the hospital, despite her language barrier that would certainly make her life easier. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she walked straight into Barry when they stopped outside the town hall. It was a sturdy stone structure that, to Nina’s eyes, was covered in a near absurd number of trilobite etchings.

“Come on. Let’s go see if Carson’s in,” Barry said, gently pushing Nina forward to keep her between them and away from the ogling eyes of the secretarial staff.

As it turned out, Carson was in and before she could say ‘Dreen gift’ she was sitting in a comfortable chair in his office, a cup of piping hot tea in hand, and listening to Bill, Barry and Carson discuss her situation in rapid Romanian. She held the tea to her lips and took a deep shaky breath in trying to let the smells of mint and honey soothe her. People talking about her was uncomfortable when it was in a language she could understand, this was nearly intolerable. Setting the tea down and pinching the skin between her thumb and forefinger she began counting backwards from three to work up the courage to speak.

“ _Can we stick to English?_ ” she finally asked. It was an effort not to raise her hand.

Bill shot her a dazzling smile, “ _Sorry about that. We were just filling Carson in on the public story._ ”

“So,” Carson said, resting his chin on his hands. “ _Master Bill tells me you’d like work in the Great Hospital_.” 

“ _I have university certification and three years experience as a nurse. Although_ ,” she hesitated, “ _it might be better if I could work as an orderly or even in housekeeping until have at least some grasp on the language._ ”

“ _Very well. With your permission I would like to bring my son in on this as well. He handles things when I’m needed elsewhere, and can be trusted._ ”

Nina nodded and tried to slow her racing heart. She got the feeling that if she said no now the senechal would keep bringing it up until she agreed. Besides, it would be nice to have a few people she knew she could trust.

Carson stuck his head out the door and scanned the room. “Elena, where’d that son of mine get off to? There’s--”

“There’s work to be done. Yes, father.”

The tall young man strode into the room. For all he was taller than the senechal and his hair was fuller and lighter, they were clearly related. He dropped a bundle of clothing on the desk, squeezing the seneschal's shoulder as he walked by.

“I brought a change of clothing for the Masters,” he inclined his head respectfully towards Bill and Barry, “and their guest. Something that smells a bit less like smoke.”

“ _Nina, this is my son, Carson Maximus von Mekkhan. Max, Nina will need a place to stay with some amount of privacy while she settles into work at the Hospital. As well as a tutor in Romanian._ ”

Max glanced curiously between Nina and his father. “ _I’m sure you’ll fill me in later?_ ”

He waited for Carson to nod before settling into thought, tapping a finger absently against his chin. Nina shifted uncomfortably.

“ _If it’s too much trouble I can probably find my own place. And I can help out around the house if you know anyone who might put me up for a little while._ ” She looked down at her hands, willing them to stop shaking. “ _I don’t really need a tutor either… Some books might be helpful though. I’m pretty good at languages, and I’m a quick learner. I’ll-- I’ll be alright_.”

When she looked up the four men were watching her with a look of-- Concern? Irritation? Consternation? Facial expressions could be so hard to read.

Max smiled and shook his head, “ _Don’t be ridiculous. I know the perfect place. Arella and her family don’t speak more than a few words of English, but they should have space and I’m there often enough to help if there’s something that needs translation._ ”

“Ha! I know you. You just want to spend more time with your sweetheart.” Carson snorted and then sighed. “ _That would do nicely. If you run into any trouble or have.. anything you need to tell Master Bill you may pass it on to me through Max. We’ll see to it the information gets where it needs to go._ ”

Nina stood and Carson passed her the bundle of spare clothes. “Thank you. All of you. I’m just going to--” She gestured vaguely at the door and ducked out to find the washroom before her tears could spill over. Yes, it would be nice to have help.

\-----

 

Later, Nina sat on her small cot, elbows on her knees so she could watch as the town lights flickered to life outside the small attic window and process the day. It was beautiful, this city she’d spent so long wishing she could visit.

Arella and her parents had welcomed her with open arms and, more importantly, minimal questions. She had scolded Max for not asking the last time Nina had eaten a real meal and Nina spent the next hour allowing the shorter woman to bustle her around making sure she was fed and setting up the attic as a bedroom while Max trailed behind them playing translator.

It had been both easier and harder than she’d expected. For the first time that day it had truly hit her that her old life was apparently gone forever, which had lead to an awkward ten minutes as she sobbed uncontrollably into her snail and garlic pie. She wasn’t sure what Max said to Arella then, but was grateful to both of them for letting her pretend it hadn’t happened later on.

The bright spot of the afternoon was trying on clothes. Max told her that by tomorrow they would get a package of hospital uniforms and that Arella said they could go shopping sometime this week, but in the meantime she needed some spare clothes that wouldn’t stand out too badly.

“You’re too tall and broad for my things,” Arella had said speculatively, as Max translated. “But my mother’s might do, even if they are a little old fashioned.”

The next hour had them both smiling and playing charades to communicate, Max having retired downstairs to wait, while they had an impromptu fashion show. Nina was comfortable in a skirt, and there was something soothing about neatly buttoning or tying on each layer until the outfit was complete. When she noticed her admiring the bright print on her own blue dress, Arella found her an apron embroidered with blue and orange flowers. She also gestured for Nina to take what she wanted from a chest of hats and headscarves, which left them both laughing.

Now, Nina flopped back against the cot with a groan. The emotional rollercoaster of a day had left her completely drained. Which, she thought, maybe wasn’t such a bad thing. Her stomach still churned and her hands and feet were still numb with anxiety, but she couldn’t work up the energy for a complete panic attack.

What was she going to do? What did these Dreen things want from her? To ‘weed out the agents of darkness’? She was no superhero, no spy. Just a nurse in a new city that was famously wary of outsiders who didn’t even speak the language. And why _couldn’t_ she mention the war? She’d need to watch a while longer and ask more questions, but the war didn’t become a plot point until several seasons in which probably meant she had several years here before the first attack would even happen. _So don’t worry about it, Nin. One day at a time. You’ve gotta just take things one day at a time._

She wished she could cry now. She wished she could throw something without the family downstairs hearing. She wished for her cat, her medication, some ice cream and a lot of other things out of her reach. Instead she crawled under the padded quilt, breathing in the smell of the lavender sachet and the wooden chest it had been packed in and stared at the wood grain of the ceiling above her.

_One day at a time. One breath at a time. You’re going to be okay._

 


End file.
